


The Case of Cat

by coriaakin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 12:22:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16017833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coriaakin/pseuds/coriaakin
Summary: A Cat has intruded Draco Malfoy’s life.





	The Case of Cat

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for the DramioneLove Mini-Fest 2018. 
> 
> My prompt was #: 49 – “Invisible Smiling Cat” - Draco hallucinates about an Invisible Smiling Cat that keeps getting him into embarrassing troubles with his longtime rival Hermione Granger.

Plenty of things have gone wrong in Draco Malfoy’s life.

Nothing as bad as this, he thought.

As his vision started to blur, a faint image of a smiling cat formed in the sky above him.

\---

The Smiling Cat was a myth. A story Draco Malfoy had heard about since he was a child.

The story tells of a mischievous cat who comes and goes whenever It wishes. It wreaks havoc, is somewhat helpful and takes the form of whatever shape it wishes, appearing only to people who are lost.

He believed it so until he started to see the cat two days ago, at the end of a small party at Theodore Nott’s. Strangely enough, it took form of an orange half-Kneazle.

“I’m mad, you’re mad, we’re all mad,” the cat sang as It first appeared before him, teeth first.

He yelped and shouted, but no one seemed to be able to see the strange creature hovering right in front of him. Instead, they all shushed him for the commotion he was making.

“You’re just hallucinating, mate,” Theodore Nott had slurred.

Yes, must be it, Draco thought warily, as he watched the cat swish and swirl around the room, all the while humming Its song.

“I’m going mad,” he muttered to himself.

The cat stopped in the middle of its chant and stared at him. “How curious, you’re the first to admit that.”

To ignore the cat, Draco began to recite potion ingredients.

“My, my,” the cat drawled, swirling around the room. Draco watched as its tail stroked his friends. “You are the maddest one to date!”

\---

It didn’t bother him at first, as it usually hummed its own made up tune to the words, I’m mad, you’re mad, most everyone is mad, and appearing in and out as It wishes.

Until the accidents started to happen.

The first time the cat caused trouble was during a board presentation about the artifacts in Malfoy Manor to the Minister of Magic and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which also sent Bill Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger along with their usual people, to his annoyance. The presentation had been going well until he reached the fifth dark artifact.

The cat appeared teeth first, hovering right above Granger’s head. Then its tail appeared, resting on her shoulder.

Draco felt his throat dry up.

He forced himself to continue, but his eyes stayed with the grinning cat as it rested above Granger.

Then it swirled around the room, appearing and disappearing in vases and on furniture, before it decided to come right at him. The cat had transformed into a beastly cat, with sharp claws, sharpened teeth, gleaming green-yellow eyes and made a loud hiss.

The cat had the audacity to come right at him.

He looked like a fool, he was sure - shrieking and yelping, as it chased him around the room, ducking under tables and knocking over people.

“Has he lost his mind?” he distinctly heard a board member say.

“Malfoy!” Granger yelled.

Potter was laughing.

He was out of the room in an instant.

\---

The week that followed was quiet. He felt too mortified to leave the Manor grounds.

The cat still clung to him, humming its tune. Its grin was as wide as ever.

\---

The second time an accident occurred was during his visit to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour yesterday.

It was a bright and sunny Saturday. The Smiling Cat had left him alone for more than half a day and Draco thought it was gone for good. So, he had decided to venture into Diagon Alley to pick up some potion ingredient and treat himself to some ice cream.

He was wrong.

The cat appeared again, snapping its paws whenever he mentioned a flavour to try. “Adventure, boy, try something different. A bold Durian Banana? A Pepper Cherry?”

“You can’t even eat,” he snapped, glaring at the grinning, purring cat that hovered next to the waitress.

The poor girl waiting on him trembled and glanced at the empty space beside her.

Annoyed, Draco picked his usual – Pistachio Mint Sundae, before settling on an outdoor seat.

“Malfoy,” a voice called.

He turned. It was Hermione Granger, with some random partner.

She was dressed prettily, he thought.

“Ah, the miss is with a gentleman today,” the cat purred.

“None of my business,” he scowled in response, before greeting his colleague.

“What brings you down here?” she wondered, glancing concernedly at him.

Yes, talking to empty spaces might garner unwanted attention, he thought. Before he could reply however, the ice cream sundae he ordered had abruptly decided to fling itself at him. Ice cream first, then the fudge and toppings sprinkled themselves all over him.

Draco knew it was the cat. He had seen its big wide grin hovering right above the cup before the accident happened. He figured it must have charmed it too, as the sprinkling did not stop, and the ice cream was multiplying all over him.

“Merlin!” the witch exclaimed. “Have you been jinxed, Malfoy? This must be the second time it’s happened.”

He might as well have been.

The longer he stood there, on the streets of Diagon Alley for everyone to gawk at, the more he felt the ice cream seep through his shirt and pants and onto his skin.

With a hasty good bye, he grabbed his potion ingredients and left to the nearest Apparation point.

\---

Today was the worst of all.

Bill Weasley had invited him to the Burrow for brunch.

The cat showed up, as usual. This time, pulling his hands away from his mouth whenever he tried to eat; spilling drinks whenever there was one as he walked by a cup; even coming close to tripping on a baby Weasley, if Granger had not pulled the toddler away on time.

He was perfectly content to sit in the kitchen, by himself while the rest chatted in the living room and the Quidditch players flew a game outside. However, he was ultimately pulled into a game by a ferocious Ginny Weasley, who was adamant in trying a new tactic.

He had been flying half-heartedly around the field by the Burrow, roped into playing the beater position with the Weasleys, when the cat had the audacity to appear and taunt him.

“Hmm, not better than Potter are you?”

“Come on, boy, fly higher, faster!”

“Not your best.”

“Slytherin never won for a reason, boy.”

After more insults, his practice became a pursuit of a certain cat.

“What are you doing?” Draco yelled at it exasperatedly, as it continued to throw insults at him.

“Helping you of course, young Malfoy,” the cat drawled.

The chase ultimately led him to crashing into the tree by the Burrow and landing on the ground.

“Whoops,” the cat chuckled, drawling unapologetically. “My mistake.”

Draco groaned and wheezed as he lay on the ground. He could distinctly hear the women in the kitchen yelling out frantically for the boys.

The first that came to him was Granger.

“Malfoy!” she repeated his name a few times as she waved her wand around his body. “Oh, Merlin! Molly, he’s not answering!”

“Draco,” Granger repeated, slapping his cheek lightly. “Draco, are you alright?”

When he attempted to answer, the woman had the audacity to shush him, “Good, you’re responding.”

He winced at her shout to the Weasley matriarch. “He’s coming to, Molly.”

Draco blinked when his eyes didn’t seem to be working correctly. That was when the cat appeared again, grinning sheepishly.

You’re crazy, Draco mouthed drowsily, for he found that he could not make a noise.

The cat’s sheepish grin became a wide, genuine grin. “I’m not crazy, Draco of ‘bad faith’.”

Draco did not and could not comprehend what it had said. As he lost consciousness, he could hear the cat’s drawling voice saying, “Worry not, all will be well.”

\---

He woke up in a hospital room. Granger sat by the bed, a book in hand.

She looked up when he shifted. “You’re alright. Not a scratch on you.”

“Stupid cat,” he muttered.

“Sorry, what?” she leaned forward. “Did you say cat?”

“No,” he grumbled.

“Was it a Cheshire Cat?” she wondered. “You’ve been mumbling about big grins and the disappearing cat, and the only one I could think of was the Cheshire Cat, from Alice.”

“Alice?” The Smiling Cat appeared again, lying on top of him, only this time translucent. “The Alice?”

“No!” Draco jerked. “No Alice, no cat. This is not real!” he moaned.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Malfoy?” Granger asked, concerned. “The healer did find a mix of potions in your body, which may have caused whatever has been happening to you in the past few weeks. I wrote to your mother-”

“What? Why?” Draco spluttered.

“Molly and Narcissa are friends, you know,” she stared. “She’s been writing to Molly about your hallucinations.”

“No hallucinations,” Draco muttered.

“Harry and Ron found it hilarious of course, but Bill thought I might have an insight, so I may have been following you around.”

Draco was startled. “What?”

She squirmed a little at her seat. “It’s only been two days,” she said in a quiet voice, then she sat up straighter, “and I’ve solved it! Ha!”

“I fell from a tree, Granger.” He scowled. “You didn’t do anything.”

“'The proper order of things is a mystery to me.' It’s a quote from Alice in the Wonderland.” She shrugged. “Not sure why that came to mind. Anyway.” She stood up. “I am going to do more research! I’m sure there must be a reason for the hallucinations. I wonder if Alice wasn’t just a story.”

Draco didn’t bother asking who this ‘Alice’ was. He grunted in response and waved her off.

She rolled her eyes and prepared to leave. “Narcissa will be dropping by soon. She wasn’t too concerned after she heard you were fine—told Molly you’re unbreakable. I’ll leave you this book here. It’s a Muggle story.”

His eyes followed her hand, on the cover of the book, was the same cat that had been plaguing him the past few weeks—green eyes, face-splitting grin and all. His eyes widened in shock as he scrambled to reach for it.

“Didn’t expect you to be excited,” she said, puzzled. “It’ll be here for a while.”

When she left, he realized the cat had disappeared somewhere between their short conversation. The humming had stopped.

He swore he saw the smile on the book cover widen when he touched it.


End file.
